O Daddy Tree

I found this activity in a parenting magazine last year.  A parenting magazine geared towards moms most likely.  I only say this because I can't imagine a magazine geared towards dads recommending this activity. 

Basically, we wrap Jason in crepe paper...

...and then decorate him with ornaments and a big gaudy star.  Okay, the star does not actually have to be gaudy; it was just Jason's luck that it is.  The boys love it and remembered the activity from last year.  They have been asking to do this activity for weeks.  And when we were done they wanted promises that we would do it again next year.

Lucky Jason.

For our activity, we busted out some cool ornaments this year.  My aunt and uncle gave them to us and they are very cool.  So cool that we decided to wait until close to Christmas to put them on the tree because the temptation to play with these ornaments is very strong.  Who wouldn't want to play with a Romulan Warship or

the USS Voyager or

 or the Millennium Falcon or 

a Klingon Bird of Prey or

the USS Defiant (not shown here)?

Here Comes Santa Claus

Last night was our church's Christmas party.  There was an enormous amount of ham (happy moment for Josh) and plenty of dessert (several happy moments for Michael) and candy canes (happy moments for all the boys).  Santa also made an appearance.  I have ambivalent feelings about Santa.  My mom claims he is the spirit of giving.  I think of him more as the spirit of gimmie, gimmie, gimmie.

Michael wasn't sure what to ask Santa for Christmas.   He was also sure that he would like anything Santa brought, as long as it wasn't a girl present.  Michael is also pretty convinced that this is the "real" Santa.  I am not encouraging that.

Ben didn't have anything to say to Santa; he was just in this for the candy cane.

Josh had a list.  I am sure that air swimmer was on the list.  I have no idea what an air swimmer is.  I feel fairly confident that he won't be getting one for Christmas.  I also feel fairly confident that he will love his other gifts, so I am not too worried.

Where Credit Is Due

Lately I have been posting some great pictures of my kids.  Some were in the Christmas Letter and others are on the side bar.  But, I neglected to give credit for them.  Lest you think I have either spontaneously become a better photographer or bought a camera that is completely idiot proof, I need to give credit where credit is due.  My friend, Steph, was kind enough to meet us at the park and take some pictures of the boys.  I love the pictures she took.  She even got the two I have already posted of Ben in spite of him being very grumpy and completely uncooperative.  She also got many more good ones of Josh and Michael.  So, I wanted to post some more of them.  Not all, since I realize that not everyone wants to spend a lot time looking at pictures of the boys (although I often do).  And to thank Steph again for taking these great photos.

Miller Family Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Millers!

Our year has been filled with our boys, their activities and adventures. 

Ben (2) We have so enjoyed watching Ben’s personality continue to unfold.  He is spunky, sweet and social.  He loves to make his brothers laugh.  He is a Daddy’s boy and finds comfort in sucking on two of his fingers and holding Jason’s ear.  Depending on the day, he is insistent on either being a “baby” or “big boy,” but he is always BEN.  Ben graduated from crib to big boy bed this year and in all ways tries to do just about everything that Josh and Michael do.  He loves the Backyardigans, Batman and being a “police officer.”  As befits the third child, he has a clear idea of what he wants, when he wants it and how.

Michael (5) Our middle child is a non-stop motion machine.  If he isn’t jumping, then he is bouncing, springing, bounding or hopping.  He is a Mama’s boy and can be so affectionate and sweet.  Michael is obsessed with superheroes and spends a great deal of time dressed up as one, when we let him.  Halloween is pretty much his favorite time of year as he spends most the month of October dressed as Batman.  He played his first season of t-ball on the Cardinals this spring.  He started his second year of preschool this fall.  Two days a week doesn’t seem enough at this stage, but we try to keep busy by having his buddies over often to play.

Josh (7) Growing older and taller at much too fast a pace, Josh started 2^nd grade this year.  He is a voracious reader and obsessed with Star Wars, sharks, Bey Blades, Star Wars and Legos.  Oh, and Star Wars.  Josh also played t-ball this spring, but he was on the Astros.  Fortunately for peace in our home, the boys’ teams never played each other.  Josh started Cub Scouts this Fall and is in a Wolf Den.  He enjoys all the meetings and really enjoys earning beads and belt loops.

Irene Jason and the boys survived another of Irene’s trips to Germany.  She was lucky enough to head across the ocean to see her sister this summer.  They meandered over to Neuschwanstein, Salzburg and Regensburg.  Rachel also introduced Irene to klettersteiging.  After which, Irene was inspired to start working out.  After which she was inspired to do the Primal Mud Run.  After which she was in a great deal of pain.

Jason This Summer, Jason also joined the gym.  This fall, he also got primal in the Primal Mud Run.  He enjoyed the obstacles and mud so much that he is already planning on doing another race in the spring.  He continues to teach AP World History and Ancient World History at Battlefield High School. He was also invited to join Kappa Delta Pi, an international honor society in education. 

We drove up to New York to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant this summer.  We also headed south to the Outer Banks for a couple of days on the beach before school started.  We went camping for the first time as a family and spent time hiking in the Shenandoah Mountains.  We drove to North Carolina to spend time with Irene’s brother before his deployment.  The boys also got to spend time with Grandma Jo and Great-Grandpa Roberts.

We have been blessed to have had a year filled with fun activities and family.  We hope you are also enjoying this holiday season!

Love, 

Jason, Irene, Josh, Michael and Ben 

Why I am the Grinch/Scrooge

1.  I can't wait until we get to take the tree down.  This might actually happen on the evening of December 25th.  We have had to rearrange the living room furniture and I feel claustrophobic.  Plus, Ben spends a lot of time taking the ornaments off of the tree and saying, "Sorry, Mommy."  And then refusing to put them back on.  ::Mommy banging. her. head. on. the. wall::

2.  Same with the decorations.  I don't have enough high, flat surfaces and Ben doesn't have enough self-control, so it looks like the Christmas box vomited on top of the entertainment center.  I don't normally keep a spotless house, but the amount of clutter in the front room is getting on my nerves.

3.  I am avoiding making any baked goods.  Feeling the no-gluten, no-sugar diet more than expected.  Toasting bread is making me salivate, so I am pretty sure that baking oatmeal or molasses or gingerbread cookies is a bad idea.

4.  I would like to get rid of Santa in our Christmas.  Horrible, huh?  And unlikely to happen since Santa figures prominently in many of our Christmas movies.  But, really.  I don't like using Santa to threaten the kids (among other reasons - no matter how bad they behave, they are going to get gifts for Christmas so it is an empty threat).  And I like the kids to actually thank the people who gave them gifts (even us) rather than feel entitled to gifts from a mythical figure.

5.  I think It's a Beautiful Life is an irritating movie.  One of Jason's favorite Christmas movies, I can't stand the non-stop Jimmy Stewart whine fest.  I do enough whining myself - I don't need to watch someone else do it.

6.  I also can't stand Mr. Krueger's Christmas.  I know this movie features the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, so I should somehow like it by association.  However, I don't listen to a lot of MoTab, so that does nothing for me.

7.  I find radio stations that play only Christmas music irritating.  Don't get me wrong: there is a lot of gorgeous Christmas music out there.  But not enough to play every day, all day starting before Thanksgiving straight through to Christmas.  And there is no kind of music I want to listen to all the time.


So, Bah Humbug and here's hoping my heart grows three sizes larger this year.

FHE

Last night for FHE and as part of our month of Christmas activities, we brought out the two Nativity toy sets.  While we read a book about the birth of Christ and talked about the events leading up to and after His birth, we had the boys put the Nativity figures in their respective stables.  The hope is that the hands-on experience will help reinforce hearing the story.

Which it did for Ben apparently.  While his brothers were getting their pajamas on, Ben rearranged all the figures as seen below.  He definitely got it right that Baby Jesus is the main attraction.

Decorated

This last Sunday morning, being both in the month of December and relatively free (church being in the afternoon), we decided to decorate for Christmas.  Because I need both emotional and physical separation between major holidays, I refuse to decorate for Christmas until December.  Kudos to you if you are ambitious enough and excited enough to do it earlier; I just can't handle it.

That being said, Sunday was the day.  We had all been crazy busy the day before, so this was a nice way to spend a Sunday morning.  Jason got all the boxes out of the attic and we reacquainted ourselves with decorations, books and toys we hadn't seen for 11 months.  That part is almost like Christmas by itself.  We forget what we have and are delighted to rediscover it all.  

First, the tree.  I have never had a real tree.  I am sure that Christmas tree purists will be aghast, but I don't really think I am missing out.  I have a difficult enough time keeping live plants alive; I can't begin to imagine what would happen to a dead plant in my care.  So, a fake tree it is.  I would like to say that we are just extraordinarily eco-friendly and striving to create a smaller carbon footprint, but it is really an issue of convenience.  Oh, and my mom is allergic to pine trees.  (At which point you are thinking, "What is it with this family and allergies?"  Honestly, I don't know.)  And since we really enjoy having her over, we stick to fake. 

Fighting a cold and an acute case of photographobia, I took pictures while Jason and the boys did most of the work.

Ben decided to be management and oversaw the operation.  Please note that he has his mini purple lightsaber at the ready should some Jedi discipline become necessary.

Our tree, mostly decorated.  The drawback of decorating the tree in the morning when our house faces east is that most pictures were horribly backlit.  But, you get the idea.

And Jason helped Batman put on the finishing touch.

We are now appropriately festive and ready for the rest of the month!